With the government stepping up vigil against the stray dog menace, the local bodies in the State have been forced to implement their own Animal Birth Control (ABC) measures. In Kozhikode, the district panchayat has come up with a plan to sterilise stray dogs with the cooperation of the grama panchayats.
A meeting of the heads of local bodies chaired by district panchayat president Babu Parasseri on Wednesday decided to collect Rs.2 lakh from each local body towards the project.
Meanwhile, a monitoring committee to tackle the stray dog menace will be formed in all grama panchayats by September 5.
Out of the 70 grama panchayats in the district, only 14 have such a monitoring committee at present. The meeting was held following the Chief Minister’s order to convene meetings in all districts to discuss the issue before September 31.
Waste managementThe meeting also decided to strengthen waste management programmes and directed the grama panchayat secretaries to take action. The grama panchayats should implement source-level waste management programmes.
The local bodies should look into the licences of domestic dogs and pigs, while owners should take care to get their pets licensed, the meeting pointed out. It also demanded that the State government raise the licence fee from the present Rs.10. There was also a suggestion to fine those who raise domestic animals without a licence.
Additional District Magistrate T. Jenil Kumar, Panchayat Additional Director C.K. Vijayakumar, Deputy Director of Department of Animal Welfare A.C. Mohandas, and presidents and secretaries of various grama panchayats took part in the meeting.
